Coffee Fruiting in Vietnam Gets Boost From Heavy Rainfall

By Bloomberg News -
Apr 13, 2012

The coffee crop in Vietnam (VEEXMCFV), the
world’s biggest grower of the robusta variety used in instant
drinks and espressos, has been given a boost by heavy rainfall,
according to officials and growers.

“The weather is quite favorable with a lot of rain over
the past week when the trees needed water for fruiting,” said
Mai Ky Van, head of the business division at October Coffee,
Cocoa Co., a producer and trading company in Dak Lak province,
the largest coffee region.

Rainfall in Buon Ma Thuot, the main growing area in Dak
Lak, totaled 199.5 millimeters in the first 10 days of this
month, compared with an average of 55 millimeters in previous
years, according to the Dak Lak Hydrology and Meteorology
Office. The area didn’t get any rain at the same time last year.

Robusta traded in London climbed 11 percent to $2,001 a
metric ton this year and reached $2,174 on Feb. 16, the highest
level since September, on increased global demand. A better crop
in Vietnam may cap the advance.

“Rains came at the right time for the crop and may help
fruits get bigger,” said Huynh Quoc Thich, head of the
cultivation office in Dak Lak’s agricultural department. “It
also helps save farmers irrigation costs.”

Vietnam raised its export forecast for 2012 by 17 percent
to 1.15 million tons, said the monthly report posted on the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development website April 3.

Bean shipments totaled 200,000 tons last month, up 24
percent from a year earlier, according to figures released on
March 28 by the General Statistics Office in Hanoi.

The country may produce a record 22 million 60-kilogram
bags in the 2012-2013 year, according to a forecast by Ken
Goldman, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., on April 11.